LSU struggled to reclaim their dominance in college football over the past year. After winning a national title under Joe Burrow, they were a shell of that team in 2020. They are hoping that a new offensive lineman will be able to help with that turnaround.
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Kimo Makaneole committed to the Florida State Seminoles and was set to join head coach Mike Norvell's team next fall before he decommitted and chose the LSU Tigers instead.
Makaneole, a three-star offensive guard, currently plays for Niceville High School in Florida and has been dominant in the trenches for the Eagles. Makaneole originally opted to not travel far from home to attend school; Tallahassee is just a two-hour drive from his hometown. He backed off that pledge, however.
Kimo Makaneole Commits to Florida State
https://twitter.com/KimoMakaneole/status/1287548653792526337
RELATED: America's No. 3 Athlete Switches Commitment to Rival School
In addition to FSU, he also received offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Colorado, Duke, East Carolina, Kansas, Louisiana, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, Pittsburgh, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Tulane, and Virginia Tech.
He is expected to play guard at the college level, but he does have experience as an offensive tackle as well.
Great in-person analysis of FSU OL commit Kimo Makaneole by Rivals' @ChadSimmons_:
Simmons likes the way Makaneole comes off the ball strong when run-blocking but shows patience in pass-protection. Also great leadership and energy.
Watch here: https://t.co/FK2mqnvkxO
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) October 15, 2020
One reason that FSU fans were excited at their chances is that Makaneole had spoken to offensive line coach Alex Atkins on multiple occasions and their relationship going into the recruiting process was healthy.
Atkins was not able to secure fellow offensive lineman Jake Slaughter after he decommitted to join the Florida Gators, so Makaneole's signing will give Florida State some depth in the position group.
OL Kimo Makaneole Highlights
After landing an offer from Florida State today, three-star Niceville OL Kimo Makaneole committed on the spot. @MichaelWarchant has the details: https://t.co/11EjscqyGH pic.twitter.com/oieOOVWfoQ
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 27, 2020
Makaneole is 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, so college coaches are going to have to help him gain some "good" weight while not taking away from his impressive athleticism.The speed he possesses is rare for an offensive lineman, and his chances of making the NFL would increase if he kept that attribute through college.
Makaneole can challenge opposing defensive ends and tackles, and his duties at guard will see him matches up against linebackers as well. Though he is a three-star prospect, linemen may take a few years to get acclimated with the talent level, so the hope is that he can improve and be an NFL Draft prospect one day.
Kimo Makaneole Commits to LSU
https://twitter.com/KimoMakaneole/status/1344886333593055232?s=20
UPDATE (January 6, 2021): Kimo Makaneole officially committed to LSU on New Year's Day in a post on Twitter. The big-bodied three-star recruit seems excited to join Ed Orgeron's crew in Baton Rouge.
"First, I want to thank my older brother, Kini; for pushing me to my limits, conditioning me to be stronger and faster; dusting me off and telling me to 'do it again until it's right.' I will continue pursuing my football and academic career at Louisiana State University," he wrote.
Judging from the looks of this video, I think he'll settle in nicely under Orgeron.
@FSUFootball commit @KimoMakaneole getting the Niceville Eagles pumped before workouts today! Can’t wait to see this during Game time at FSU! pic.twitter.com/wkP0LgNEgH
— Cobratti (@Ron_Corleone727) August 27, 2020
